Jesus loves me so much i can't stop dancing
my arms won't stop waving
my shoe fell off and i'm not going to put it back on
sweat was dripping down my back so i took my shirt off and tied it on my head
i fell down and scraped my elbow and back
my hips are shaking
my lips cant stay closed
hallelujah
hallelujah
thank you Jesus.

Sorry about my lack of writing, i have been in the fine country of Israel. But more on that later when i have time to collect my thoughts. As for right now, all i can think about is how amazing easter is and i am super pumped to be able to experience it for 30 hours instead of the normal 24. How you might ask? Well, i'll tell you. I boarded a plain in Tel-Aviv at twelve o'clock midnight on today and rode that plane for 12 hours, but when i arrived in New York it was only 6 am, thus creating for me an extra long, extra helping of extended Easter. What better day could be extended than this? He is Risen! He is Risen! He is risen indeed. Amen. Praise the Lord. Maybe i'll drive off into sunset and see if i can make it to Mountain and Pacific time and keep this amazing day going.

BREAKING NEWS:
I have just received two e-mails from my grandmother dated Sunday, January 20, 2008.
FYI today is the Saturday the 19th!!!!!!!!!
Judging from the evidence i have drawn three remarkable conclusions.
1. My Grandmother is somehow living one day in the future.
2. As of tomorrow, computers and the internet will still exist, because that is how she has chosen to contact me.
3. I don't think she has yet realized she is living in this world of tomorrow because she didn't mention it in either of her e-mails...she must have known this fact would terrify me.

It doesn't all have to be bad, we can continue to keep in touch over e-mail and i have already made up the following list of three jobs to keep her busy.
1. Please let me know which items at the grocery store are about to go on sale, so i don't purchase them the day before.
2. Keep me updated on who dies each day and where, so i can make reckless trips across the country to save people's lives and become a national hero.
3. At the end of the day maybe she could leave a little candy on my pillow, so it will be there when i wake up.

I've also come up with three additional reasons to try and keep her living in the future, when she inevitably begs me to help her come back.
1. Her and Grandpa can technically still keep their record setting 50+ year marriage alive, with no risk of divorce, because, if they don't see each other, there will be no room to argue.
2. I need her there to let keep me updated on the styles from the next day and warn me about any bad haircuts i'd be about to receive.
3. We can exchange endless quotes from the hit trilogy "Back to the Future" and laugh until we cry.

Today i was singing the beloved Christmas Carol "The First Noel". With a cast of killer characters and an excellent rhyme scheme and melody, this song is a major winner, but i can't help but have a few questions.

First Let's meet the Characters:
The Angels: They inspired the phrase "____ has a voice like an angel"
The Shepherds: They were laying in a field unaware of the the noel coming their way.
The Wise Men: Better late than never, they show up fashionably late to the manger and the song, in the not commonly sung 3rd and 5th verses, but they do know that there's no party like a party with Frankincense.

Question #1. The shepherds were 'laying' while watching sheep. i dont know about you, but i cant watch anything but the inside of my eyelids while i am laying down. So my guess is that they were pretty sketchy shepherds. They also had the nighttime shift on Christmas Eve, who wants to work then?

Question #2. Why designate that this noel was the 'first' one if there never was a second one? were these angels thinking there was going to be a sequel, but it just didn't end up happening? maybe they were thinking there would be a noel trilogy, and it would be a big hit in Bethlehem and then spread all through Israel topping the charts? Or, Maybe they just did their best on the first noel and decided there was no need for a second. Maybe Hollywood should refer to this instance when they are deciding whether or not to make garbage sequels.

Question #3. Maybe I should have asked this first...what does Noel even mean? If it means Christmas rules, then definitely, right on, Noel, you are totally right. Christmas does rule. And so do you, Noel, you rule too.

this photo is of me and my muscle building a treehouse

i like to do my Bible reading in the morning, at night, in bed, on a couch, in a restaurant, in class, etc. it seems more special when i do it at different times or different places.

but once i read the Bible in my tree house in our backyard. that was a special time. in a tree house, there are no distractions, no people walking in and wanting to talk, no music tempting you to play it while you do your reading, just silence and the Lord, and boy, He can work miracles with those two things.

plus i was 30 feet off the ground which is 30 feet closer to Him right?

in my relationships with friends and family, i often try to have a special place where the two of us hang out or meet to make our friendship seem more special. i see no reason that i should keep that feeling from the Lord Almighty, i want Him to have all of the greatest feelings of my heart and soul. so because of this i dedicate the tree in the backyard and its house to be a special place between me and my Saviour. a place to spend time in prayer and study, to learn and grow, just like a tree.

i will name this time my "treevotional" time.

Today i made the foolish decision to take an after dinner nap. Any napper will know that this the most dangerous time to nap, because if the nap rages out of control, you will ruin your entire night of sleep.

I laid down quickly at 6:45 and set my phone to ring an alarm at 7:50 so i could continue to function as a human today. Since people often come in and out of my room i decided to put earplugs in my ears and one of those cool things you put over your eyes for constant darkness. Well, needless to say, i fell asleep and what seemed like a moment later i woke up, uncovered my eyes and took my earplugs out, taking a quick look at the clock i noticed it said that it was 9:47.
This was a distressing sight. I had used 3 hours of sleep that i needed for the night already before 10 pm. I at once knew i had ruined the rest of my Monday and possibly my Tuesday, which if you read here often, you will know that i love Tuesdays.

I found some things to do to fill up the time i had left until i would be tired enough to sleep for the night.
-i got a haircut. (seriously, i got it all cut off by my roommate)
-i spent an hour and a half writing a paper due at the end of the semester.
-i sat here and wrote this blog
all those things leave me at 330 am and still unable to think about sleep. I'm not even having extended blinks yet. I feel like i may not be able to sleep for the rest of this calendar year.

but this could be a blessing in disguise. since i love Tuesdays so much, this will just be an extended Tuesday. I will enjoy 4 solid hours of Tuesday goodness before going to bed and waking up and having it still be Tuesday. Since i have class tomorrow i won't be able to sleep in. This will require that i be awake during more hours on a Tuesday than ever before. This will be the longest and possibly best Tuesday of my life. Long live Tuesday.

(forgive me if i sound insane...remember, its now 335).

i am entering a writing contest sponsored by Jerry Jenkins at Moody tomorrow. the winner gets $$$
here is my entry.

A Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength Faith
Earlier today, I was sitting in my favorite Chicago spot for food, McCormick and Schmick's, reading some compelling writing on the history of Christianity in Western Culture. It was so interesting that I had to put it down and go to the bathroom.

After washing my hands, I reached for a towel from the shiny silver dispenser, and noticed two things. First, I was excited because the towel system for drying hands is far superior to the wind blowing system; second, I saw a brochure sitting motionless on top of the garbage pile. Since I was looking for anything to read other than my current book, I took it off the pile--nervous of the germs it might be carrying, but curious as to what I had found.

The brochure was an invitation to participate in a writing contest sponsored by the legendary Jerry Jenkins, the famous Christian author. My mind immediately filled with puns, "Don't get Left Behind . . . write an essay"; or "Join Jerry Jenkins' Tribulation Force of Writers!" Sadly, I decided my current workload was enough and didn't leave any time to enter the contest, but then I noticed the fine print on the middle page. Anyone who entered would be invited to attend a reception with Jerry Jenkins. I knew Moody would be sure to give their best cuisine to Mr. Jenkins, so I decided I would write a quick essay in my notebook and be sure not to miss the reception, and this, this very essay you are reading, is it: my quest to define "a living faith."

People say they have faith in a lot of things: Santa Claus or Bob Dylan or someone else who by reputation never fails. My waitress currently says she believes I will give her a tip before I leave, and I will, because I'm a Moody (Moodies are known for being extravagant tippers). I currently have faith that my chair won't break, my burger will arrive soon, and I have a chance in this contest despite my jokes about the sponsor.

But are these things what faith really is? I'll define it for us. Oh wait, no. I don't need to because the Holy Spirit already did that, and in a much better way than I could have. The Spirit says in Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." So faith is actually believing in what you can't see and knowing for a fact what your hope is in.

Continue reading "my longest entry ever." »